In this interview, we’ve collected Valentin’s impressions about his work : Lifeguard on the beach.
Retranscription :
-Hi Valentin how are you today ?
-Hi Louis, I’m okay, thank you, what about you ?
-I’m fine ! I’m currently working on a project for the university and I have to collect some informations about people job experience. Would you like to share your own ?
-Yes ! With pleasure ! But, before we start can you tell me more about your study ?
-Well, we are making a global research focus on the west part of France. We collect informations for an interdisciplinary project led by an organism who seeks to improve people working conditions. For that, we make some short interviews to collect workers impressions about their job experience and the way they live it. I can’t give you more precisions about what we are working on exactly, because it could affect your answers and the results. But, if you want i can give you more details after the interview !
-Ok ! I’m ready !
-Great ! Thank you very much ! Before we start, I have to tell you that there isn’t any bad or good answer. You just have to talk honestly and give your personal point of view, nobody will judge what you’ll say in this exchange. Also, you can be sure that everything you’ll say will remain secret, and this interview will be totaly anonymous. Nobody will share your informations or share anything that could identify yourself. Okay ?
-Alright !
-Is it good for you if I record the interview ? It could be really useful for the transcription !
-Yes no problem !
-Perfect ! So, first, can you talk about your job, and describe your activities, your missions ?
-So.. I’m currently lifeguard at the central beach of Hossegor. My job mostly involves the monitoring of the coast and the rescuing of people in distress. During the summer, I also do some prevention on the beach, because there are many many persons, and most of them don’t realize how the ocean can be dangerous. A lot of people think that they know perfectly the ocean because they come here two weeks per year, but they’re wrong. That’s the kind of person we have to rescue in the middle of the sea, because they didn’t notice that they were trapped in a baïne.
-I can imagine how it must be frustrating for you to bring them back to shore after you told them to be careful with the marine current.
-Yeah.. Globaly, people are pretty understanding, but sometimes we have to deal with persons with a high self-esteem. They can’t consider your councils, even if it’s for their safety. I think it’s a negative point of my job activity, but i’m okay with it, as I said most people are very understanding.
-Do you see any others negative aspects in your job ?
-Well, I think this job is really exhaustive. You work every day under the sun shining and you always have to be alert, to be aware, even if nothing happens during five or six hours. Also, there is a kind of monotony. You work every day on the same watchtower, watching the same area, doing the same things and one day looks like the next. That can be really tiring if you’re not in a good team that breaks this kind of daily routine.
-Is it your case ? Are you in a good team ?
-Yes, my colleagues are more than co-workers. We are a real family. We all have a great complicity and we’re united in good and bad times. That make the work more pleasant !
-What about the others aspects you like in your job ?
-Personally, I’m a child from the ocean, I love to work on the beach. I love to work outside, to feel the wind, the sound of the wave and smell of the sea. This is where I belong and I can’t see myself anywhere else. I also like to have responsabilities. That’s really rewarding to help people, to get them out from bad situations. People believe in us, they feel safe when we are watching, maybe too much sometimes ! But it’s good to feel their confidence.
-Alright ! That’s perfect, thank you very much Valentin
-No problem ! Now, can you tell me more a bit more about this project ?
-We are looking for specifics modalities that can influence positively or negatively the well-being at work. That’s why I asked you specific questions about what you like and what you dislike in your job. Our job consists in crossing the different people impressions to see if global thematics emerge. We didn’t finish to collect and to analyze all the interviews, but I can already tell you that there are many similarities between the different speeches, even if people activities are totally different.
-Oh, really ? Can you give me an example ?
-Yes, for example, the social climate at work seems to be an important factor of well-being for the people of the study and it seems to be the same for you. Siegrist, a famous researcher in social psychology, have already demonstrated the importance of colleagues-support to improve well-being. Thanks to your personal experience, we can appreciate his study in the field. It’s a further proof of the importance of social relations at work.
-Ok, that’s very interesting ! What about the others aspects you have targeted ?
-Well, there are many persons like you who talked about the negative impact of monotony. A lack of diversity in the activities can be really harmful for physical and psychological health, so this result is not surprising. There are many others factors we’ve targeted in our research like the feeling of justice, management methods or autonomy at work. If you want, I can send you the final results of the study when it’s done!
-Yes I want too, it could be really interesting, thank you !
-You’re welcome ! And thank you once again for your participation !
-Thank you, bye !